Reloading: Derrick Walton's amazing highlight video
Many of you probably also follow UMHoops.com. They recently posted UM PG commit Derrick Walton's senior year highlights. He's the favorite for Michigan POY.
http://www.umhoops.com/2013/03/07/derrick-walton-senior-highlights/
If you haven't watched this video yet - watch it. It is hard to find a better highlight video for a true point guard. *
First, I hope Trey Burke comes back next year. Second, if I were his father, I would tell him to get his butt to the NBA. He is ready. Assuming Trey is gone....
I think UM reloads with Derrick Walton - I'm really excited about Derrick Walton next year. His game is amazing and in many ways closely resembles that of Trey Burke. His vision is outstanding. He not only finds the open man, but can find them in a lot of traffic and delivers the ball at the best location for the shooter. His jump shot looks more than smooth - very Burke smooth. Great handle on the ball. Oneof the things I was most impressed with was his ability to play under control - something that Burke has really improved this year. He has a very nice little bunny floater that Trey has utilized all year - it might be Trey's best shot this year. His body control while driving to the basket is phenominal.
I love true point guards - those that really can control the game, have high assists, and make their teammates better. We've had plenty of good point guards lately, none better than Trey Burke. We might be getting spoiled, in fact, but I don't mind. Looking at Derrick Walton, I feel that we will have another point guard who will be able to equally measure the quality we've been expecting from that position. Assuming only Burke leaves, next year should be a great year for UM basketball:
1. Walton / Spike
2. THJ (B1G POY candidate) / Levert / Zac Irvin
3. Stauskas / Levert / Zac Irvin
4. GRIII / McGary
5. Morgan / McGary
Am I really talking about next year? Better than watching that painful MSU / Wiscy game. But I'm not bypassing this year. This Sunday is the biggest regular season game we've had in decades.
Go Blue.
*disclaimer: highlight tape viewed / lowlight tape not viewed.
you are forgetting mark donnal. he's not too bad either
Yes. Donnal, Horford... we have more players. I added Zac Irvin at the end just because I've heard incredible reviews about how his game has taken off this year - true 5 star player type.
Our team will be very deep. In fact, our second team would beat many of UM's first teams from the not-too-distant-sad-faced-past.
Scores and has incredible length to defend. If we're lucky he'll come into Michigan around 6'7" in shoes to play the 2 and 3. He's NOT a stretch four like Smotrycz or athletic enough to get by at the 4 like GRIII. We will be seeing him on the wing handling the ball a lot.
I hope Irvin brings extra athleticism and tenacity on the defensive end. He's going to be a great scorer, but I think he can really make in impact defensively next year.
Could have 12 useable players when you include Donnal, Horford and Max.
Irvin is the best high school basketball player recruited by Michigan in at least the last decade. I thought Trey Burke was grossly underrated and could not fathom how every service not only didnt have Burke in the top 50 (almost every service had him ranked 125th ish and Brundidge higher, sometimes top 100), but how these basketball analysts even have a job. Burkes relentless practing/training is tough to match. The kid practices/trains so hard to get better. He really is one of a kind all the way around, including his Barry Sanders demeanor ont he court. Back to Irvin....
Irvin is a star in the making. He is absolutely phenomenol. Even if everyone stays except Burke, i don't see how Irvin is will be kept from the starting lineup. He is a future NBA'er all the way.
I excpect Walton to be very, very good and to have a season similar to Burke's freshmen year. In the long run, Walton will get as many assists as Burke/Morris, possibly more, but his scoring will not match Burkes.
Walton will definitely carry the high standard of our recent point guards going forward.
about Burke. I had thought about doing a end of season post about that very topic. It is what sets him apart from all others. If I were Walton, I would ask Burke to show him his workout routine.
As for Walton, I expect him to be good, but I don't expect him to be as good as Burke was as a Freshman. The transition to D1 is huge for a point guard. Burke was advanced in being able to handle the transition (remember how Brundridge struggled with it). When I watch high school videos now, the first thing that pops out at me is the speed. They look like they are playing in slow motion. The good news for Walton is that he will have Spike to show the way and lighten the load and he will have a much stronger supporting cast. The future is bright.
Donnal will be key for subbing in at the 4 next year. The four bigs of Donnal, McGary, Horford, and Morgan with Bielfeldt as a backup will give us depth at the 4/5 if not true talent. Truth is we need GRIII to come back one more year to fill that slot for us while our younger players get more experience.
Walton will be thrown into the fire from the get go, and I hope to see a move even split between him and Albrecht with Albrecht being more of a contributor.
All in All, if only Trey leaves this year, this team next year could still be very good.
Amazing vision on both sides of the court, great quickness, good shooter, and has already mastered the alleyoop. I'm excited about next year, even if (when) Burke goes to the draft, we're still going to have another great team.
Pretty impressive stuff. I'm still holding out hope that Burke somehow decides he loves this team too much to leave.
Impressive highlights. Time will tell if he's as polished as Trey, but I'm excited about his potential. I really like his ability to absorb contact and still finish at the rim...very reminscent of Trey.
I'm just a guy, but over the past year I actually haven't been that impressed by Walton's highlights. He's definitely guru-approved; it's just his tape doesn't jump out to me like Burke's did when he came out of Northland. His jumper doesn't look consistently smooth, and he tends to finger roll a lot of the bunnies. On the other hand, I do like his vision, and he's got good quicks especially of the pick-and-roll.
We'll see next year I guess how he adapts. I hope well.
I don't disagree completely. Some of the game highlights I have seen were incredible, but others were just good. That said, it is sometimes hard to judge true point guards because they are not often the primary scorers. Like Burke, Walton is an honest true point guard that just happens to be the best scorer on the court most nights.
I'm just a guy, too. Although I have been a HS varsity head coach in Washtenaw Cnty. And with that said, for me, while earlier highlights at times have been mixed b/t good and great, this seasonal highlights video is amazing.
I mean hell, he shot 100%!
Keep in mind that not every guard is going to be Burke's style, and truthfully, I don't think Burke is the model Beilein guard. I think Walton is more of a Darius Morris type, and that he fits the prototype for a Beilein recruit that will exceed expectations. If Beilein gets in on an athlete early, I've come to expect awesome development from them.
In addition to their experience, they'll also have another year of conditioning and strength training. The past few games that LeVert has been playing more minutes, it has seemed like Belien had to sit him because he was tired. I think the extra weight he could put on in addition to Mitch being in better shape and Stauskus staying here all summer to get stronger, I think we might be an even better squad all around next year, even without Burke.
10-20 pounds of muscle.
Doesn't have a left hand at this point. He reminds me more of Yogi Ferrell than of Trey Burke.
I was thinking that same thing.
And that's probably a good thing in a lot of ways. Yogi Ferrell is pretty good.
You heard the man, cancel all previously scheduled dick suckings until furthur notice.
I looked up his stats on MaxPreps and holy mother of Zeus his numbers are insane.
26.1 points per game
7.3 boards per game
7.0 assists
7.3 steals
73% field goal shooting (!!!!!!!!)
78% 2pt field goals
58% 3pt field goals
80% free throw
He had 4 triple doubles, 1 quadruple double, 8 double doubles, and a number of near triple doubles.
He had one game where he dropped 47 points on just 12 shots!
His stat line for that game was 47 points - 10-12 FG - 6-6 3ptFG - 21-27 FT - 12 rebounds - 5 assists - 6 steals.
The only 2 games he failed to score at least 20 points were both huge blowout wins.
Damn.
Only one uadruple double?
# Underacheiver.
Walton will obviously be the 1. No doubt about that: he's too talented to sit behind Spike. However, this team will have to have other scorers. Right now, Burke is the go-to guy down the stretch. He's the guy we go to when in trouble. I'm not talking about what we do against teams we're WAY better than (see: the OOC schedule) but rather, the good teams we'll play (IE, teams like IU, MSU, OSU, etc).
Walton is a pass-first guy. There is no problem with that; in fact, that's my ideal PG. But he's not playing with an ideal team; he's playing with a REAL team. GRIII, THJ, Zak, and (especially, I think) Stauskas will have to carry the load scoring-wise. They can, and I believe will. Nevertheless, this kid is not the type of player that Morris/Burke was/is. He is a TRUE PG, not a scoring PG.
The portents, the things you should glean from this? Michigan will have a wonderful PG next year, and for (I'd assume 3 years) the future. Yet, we're not gonna be like this year's team. No player will dominate the ball like Burke does ("dominating the ball" is not bad, merely the truth as is). Instead, Walton and I presume, Stauskas, will be the drivers. We will rely on off-ball movement (IE, that which we've seen from GRIII this year) to score. As most players will be a year older, this should be enough.
Caveat: I presume Stauskas will get a lot of time as the 2. This shifts the line-up to
1- Walton
2- Stauskas/THJ/Irvin (rotating)
3- THJ/Irvin
4- Morgan/Donnal/McGary (if he learns the position; totally up to coaches)
5- Morgan/McGary/Horford (I'm still not sure on McGary's position)
Walton is NOT a score-first guy. He's awesome, but we'll see a different offense. And for those not in the know, umhoops has a great article on Stauskas' efficiency in the PnR. So, Walton, THJ, and Stauskas should be the main ball handlers, while we see 4 guys in 10+ PPG.
You forgot GRIII. Yeah, I know. Not enough minutes to go around. First world problems.
Yeah, I think the OP's assumption that both THJ and GRIII are back next year is unlikely. While I would certainly love to see them back, I just don't know if it happens. I'm not sure how much THJ can do to improve even more, and GRIII is frequently included among potnetial lottery picks in spite of his late season disappearing acts in some games. While I think he could have major improvements and be a huge factor at UM next season, it would be tough to turn down lottery pick status. People like Zeller just last year have done it with no regrets, but that doesn't mean it's easy.
out of the 10 man rotation. Book it!
state fans take glee in Burke most likely being NBA ready.
Enter Derrick Walton.
Sucks to be them.
In terms of the regular season, I think next season is a bit of a step back. How can it not be? M most likely isn't going to be 25-5 and playing for the BIG regular season title at this time next year. I think Hardaway and Burke are gone and everybody else returns.
2014-15 will be the year M is favored to win the BIG. The 6 freshman on this years team will be Juniors. Horford will be a senior and the highly touted incoming class will be sophomores.
Having Bigs who are juniors and seniors is a big advantage. Big men develop slower, Horford, McGary, and Bielfeldt will all be around 22-23 years old and ready to be factors in the BIG in 14-15. Look at Nix and Payne this year for MSU, they both made big step up, and MSU is a very tough matchup in large part because of Payne and Nix's experience and improvement.
Of the 6 freshman on this years team, I think there is a good chance 5 will still be around in 14-15. GRIII will likely be gone but the rest could very well be back. Stauskas, LeVert, and McGary all have big upsides, but it going to take some time for them to develop. Albrecht and Bielfeldt don't have as much upside, but in two more season's will be productive assets to the team.
This has been a very fortunate season. It is not often you get a 25-5 season while going through the growing pains of 6 freshman. Not even the Fab Five had this kind of success during the regular season of their freshman year, but by the time they were juniors, they were a couple minutes away from a BIG championship,until Big Dog dashed their dreams.
I agree with one of your main points; Walton does play a lot like Trey Burke. I know it' s just a highlight tape, but it was a lot of fun watching him make that team in green unis look like the Washington Generals; it reminded me of what Burke did to Sparty in the last minute the other night.
As for Burke leaving, he has to. CBS has him at #9 as the best PG and ESPN at #12 as the second-best PG, and both have him in the lottery, but I think both are underrating his draft potential. Somebody is going to take him earlier than #9.
Burke has nothing to gain, career-wise, by coming back,. and all to lose. The maximum insurance policy allowed by the NCAA is $5 million, and one just like it cost Clowney $30,000. Maybe the cost would be less for a basketball player than a football player, but the problem is that the policy doesn't cover what would happen if his "stock" went down after another year.
This is simply how things are done in this era; the better a player is, the less time we get to cheer for him in a college uniform. Luckily, the playing field is level; everyone else does it that way, too.
I plan to enjoy the last few times (hopefully 10) that we get to see Trey Burke in a Michigan uniform.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/prospect-rankings
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft/results/top100/_/year/2013
First, like another poster, I was watching his left. He did have at least a couple of left handed plays, but did also take a couple layups from the left with his right hand. And he clearly prefers driving right. [/High class problems]
Question: I don't know much at all about hoops recruiting...who's #23? The dude on the back end of all those ally-oops and easy dunks off Walton feeds... Seems like a player in his own right.